Possible Lawsuit Over Aurora Movie Shootings Targets Owner

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A possible lawsuit is brewing over the shootings at the Aurora movie theater, and there may be many more. The suit could target the owner of the theater.

Lawyers in New York they say Cinemark is the main entity they're planning to go after for compensation for the victims. They're hoping they can reach some sort of settlement right off the bat, but they're prepared to go to court.

"We have the experience and the contacts to hopefully end this litigation quickly," attorney Marc Bern said.

Bern is with Napoli, Bern, Ripka, and Scholonik, a New York firm that has represented victims from Sept. 11 and the Costa Concordia ship wreck. Bern won't say who, but they've partnered with a local firm and are now representing many of the theater shooting victims, trying to get compensation.

"The victims here are some of the worst types of injuries that I have seen in over 37 years of practice," Bern said. "I believe that the primary responsibility at this point rests with Cinemark."

Bern says right now they're investigating to see if there were any past incidents at the theater and if there should have been more security there. Also in their crosshairs, the mental health professionals suspect James Holmes saw in the past.

"Either they did warn, and if they did, who did they warn. And if they failed to warn, should they have warned?"

That has been a central question in the case, and because of doctor-patient confidentiality, it's something that may never be revealed.

Aurora police say no major incident like a shooting has ever happened before in the theater, but has happened in the nearby mall. Cinemark has yet to comment on the impending litigation.